Keeping local health care accessible is not just about recruiting doctors anymore. In fact, the Centre Wellington community stakeholders group for health professional recruitment/retention is looking at attracting a wide range of health care workers to the community.
Dr. Sarah Gower, a local doctor who works out of the Tower Street clinic in Fergus, spoke to Centre Wellington councillors on Feb. 11 to provide an update on what’s been happening over the past year.
Included in the News she brought to council, was the revelation the local waiting list for a doctor is shrinking.
Gower told council the recent addition of a new physician at the Tower Street clinic has helped to substantially reduce the list “to just under 200 people, which is quite good for a community this size.”
Gower noted she moved to the area four years ago with her husband, also a doctor.
“We share a practice in Fergus and we also work in the hospital quite a bit, as all our local doctors do,” she said. She added she is grateful for the work of the township works crew that cleared roads on Feb. 8 because she had to be at the hospital to deliver two babies that day.
“I don’t know what those babies were thinking, but they were determined to be born at the worst possible time,” she quipped.
Also included at the Monday meeting on was a report by Karen Welch, chair of the community stakeholders group for health professional recruitment and retention. Welch thanked council for its continued support of recruitment efforts in Centre Wellington.
“Rural communities in Ontario continue to face a shortage of family physicians and specialists,” said Welch. “Despite the slight increase over the past few years in the supply of physicians across the province, large regional variations continue to exist.”
Despite the shrinking waiting list in Centre Wellington, the group is still actively recruiting for an internal medicine specialist, as well as family physicians to cover a retiring physician’s practice.
“Without continued successful recruitment, the shortage of physicians threatens not only the health and well being of the residents of our communities, but also our communities’ potential for growth. “
Welch noted that having good access to primary care providers in a community is an important indicator of the overall viability and health of a community.
Gower then provided additional highlights from the past year. The goal of recruitment strategies in Centre Wellington is to focus energies on not only increasing the number of physicians, she said, but increasing the number of medical students, residents, interns and practicing physicians who are interested in working and living in this area.
“It is very clear to us, the more learners we attract at a younger age, the higher chance of retaining them and getting them to move here for the long term,” said Gower.
“For us, nurturing the learners is just as important as recruiting physicians.”
She noted the past year included the retirement of Dr. Simpson in Elora and three physicians were recruited to cover that practice. In the wake of the retirement of Elora’s Dr. McPhederan, two new physicians were recruited.
Gower said it is interesting to note it took five new doctors to replace two retiring physicians.
“Younger physicians tend not to work as many hours as our predecessors,” she said.
“Lots of us have spouses who work as well. There is no stay-at-home person to run the show. And there is the work/life balance that younger doctors work harder to maintain (as compared to senior doctors).”
She added, “Five of us replacing two of them is not that unusual.” Another challenge is finding interesting jobs and activities for spouses moving to the community, she said. Gower thanked members of council and the community for being so open.
The recruitment/retention group has hosted physicians to discuss opportunities and has also participated in a recruitment tour of five medical schools in Ontario, as well as the Canadian residency matching event. While the group continues to also recruit for nursing positions, Gower said, “We’ve been very lucky with nurses at our hospital … but there are some retirements coming up.”
“We could not have achieved what we have in the past year, or in previous years, without council’s support,” she added.
After-hours clinic
Gower also touched on the new after-hours clinic located in the Fergus Walmart store.
She explained the after-hours clinic is new initiative.
“We had been approached by Walmart about a year-and-a-half ago,” said Gower. “Initially, we were not that interested in adding to our workload, since most physicians also do work at the hospital.”
After some negotiation with Walmart, local doctors came to the decision it would be in their best interest to take part.
“Currently we’re offering about 30 hours a week – following the Walmart hours,” said Gower. She stressed it is always staffed by a local physician.
“But it’s open to all comers; whether one is a patient within the community or from outside, they are welcome.”
Councillor Walt Visser said the participation in the clinic is another sign of the dedication of local physicians.
“Not only are they working in their own practice, but at the hospital and at this clinic,” said Visser. He added there is a sacrifice, but it is to the benefit of the patients and the community.
Gower agreed those using the clinic appear quite grateful.
She noted there are also computer links to allow medical records to be shared or transmitted to the patient charts.
Mayor Joanne Ross-Zuj agreed the physicians’ work was continual, “and you are always stepping up to the plate to help make this community the best place to be.”
